'allo all,
First time HJ'er here after some advice from any Ford Focus buffs out there.
I'm thinking of buying a 1999/T reg Focus 1.8 Tdi Ghia and it seems a good buy - in good nick, well looked after, full service history, decent price according to parkers and glasses but the mileage is high at around 150k.
I'm no stranger to diesels as I've run peugeot diesels for a good few years and if this was a Pug, I'd not bat an eyelid about this sort of mileage as I know they just go on and on, but I know nothing about ford diesels other than the fact that this early model TDi engine was replaced by the TDCi a while back.
So, I guess my questions are:
Should I be concerend by 150k miles on a TDi focus engine or not?
Is the TDi engine any good? or at least better than the Astra DTi/previous ford diesels?
Anything else I should watch out for on this model?
Any thoughts out there?
Tony
PS. Yeah, I know the TDCI is a better engine, but I ain't got that sort of cash about at the mo!
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See this:
tinyurl.com/d4j8t
The engine is well tested. Main issue is timing belts and tensioners. Escorts and Fiestas had change intervals of 36,000 miles and 30,000 was advised as premature failure was an issue. My P reg Fiesta 1.8 D is currently on a forecourt and is showing 162,000 miles - so they are good for 150,000 !
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See this: tinyurl.com/d4j8t The engine is well tested. Main issue is timing belts and tensioners. Escorts and Fiestas had change intervals of 36,000 miles and 30,000 was advised as premature failure was an issue. My P reg Fiesta 1.8 D is currently on a forecourt and is showing 162,000 miles - so they are good for 150,000 !
Isn't the Endura Diesel pump driven by a belt on the Endura engine as opposed to chains on the TDI. Cambelts had a recommended interval of 80 K from Spet 97, 40K on earlier engines however change 5 K earlier they do break. Not to sure what interval they are on the TDI engine.
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If it hasn't already been done I would expect this car to be needing a new clutch in the foreseeable future, and this is quite a major and expensive job.
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This might sound a little insulting but have you actually driven the car itself?
The reason I ask was I drove a Tdi Focus in Spain as a rental car and although it went well it was really rather noisy - an ever present "bag of nails" diesel sound at every point in the rev range and it never really quietened down. I would get rather tired of it as a long term prospect.
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Thanks Beef. Yes, I took it on a test drive - not far I admit - but it didn't sound too bad, but then I am used to a 406 TD so maybe I'm conditioned to it.
Out of interest though, was the TDi you drove a decent drive? I just wonder if it'll be a bit sluggish compared against other options in the class/price range like the astra DTi for instance.
Don't get me wrong I'm no boy racer and won't be going sideways around any bends in it! but it'd be nice to have a bit of power up your sleeve for the motorways.
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To be honest the car in question I rented only for 48 hrs in Madrid 2 years ago. It went okay but I just remember this ever present noise and "heaviness" to the engine's response to the throttle - slow and laboured - as if I was driving a Transit. Certainly there was no illusion that it sounded or drove anything like a petrol powered car. I remember picking it up in an underground car park in Madrid and on start up it sounded deafening as the sound reverberated around plus having to use alot of revs to get up a steep turning ramp out of the place - no need to sound the horn as anyone could hear us coming.
I have no experience of driving current turbo diesel cars so do not know how it compares to things like a Golf or 307/Megane. I certainly was a bit disappointed as I thought modern diesels were becoming unobtrusive in their feel in the car and not only were mimicking the quietness of a petrol but also providing better drivability.
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The 1.8TDI in the Focus is utterly horrid, but fundamentally reliable.
How much is this car though? I'd pay no more than £2k, and don't forget a Mondeo would offer better value at this end of the market. I bet you could get a newer than T plate, higher spec Mk2 with 50k less miles for less money.
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Why not ask the Service Manager at a Ford dealership for advice? With any luck he won't have any axe to grind with regard to this particular vehicle, so the advice should be impartial.
--
L\'escargot.
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After 100K miles they sometimes need new fuel pumps, but other than that they will run and run and run....
Blue
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Thanks for your help everyone, greatly appreciated. I think the Tdi is a bit rough for what I'm after so I think I'll carry on looking around for something else.
And Micheal - yes I could get a mondeo for similar money but:
a. It's for the mrs, and she want's a smaller hatchback
b. It'd mean me buying a mondeo
and
c. It'd mean me buying a mondeo!
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